Waterford improves as a tourist destination

A NEW national survey of attitudes to Waterford as a tourist destination has shown a marked improvement in how the city and county are perceived among would-be visitors as well as an increased interest in visiting among more affluent Dublin-based tourists.

Details of a survey by Lansdowne Market Research were revealed by John Foley, chairperson, Waterford Marketing and Tourism at a briefing in the Waterford Crystal Visitor Centre last night.

The research found that almost a third, 29%, of respondents rated Waterford “very good” as a place to visit (up from 23% three years earlier).

A further 32% rated the city and county as “fairly good” from a visitor’s perspective.

The survey results also show an encouraging move upmarket by Waterford, 33% of those who cited Waterford as their first preference destination being drawn from the higher ABC1 social class.

This compared with just 24% when the parallel survey was conducted during 2000.